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DDC outlines $3 billion-plus Southeast Queens capital push, lists major stormwater and water‑main projects
Summary
The NYC Department of Design and Construction presented 2026 infrastructure work for Queens, highlighting nearly $3 billion and about 44 Southeast Queens projects, plus major storm-sewer, water-main and bridge replacement projects with staged community outreach and lead-service-line pilot replacements.
The New York City Department of Design and Construction on Thursday walked Queens Borough Cabinet members through a slate of 2026 capital infrastructure projects focused on storm sewers, water-main replacements and other upgrades tied to the Southeast Queens initiative.
Ari Gershman, DDC director of intergovernmental affairs, said the Southeast Queens program includes "almost $3,000,000,000 in public funds, about 44 projects" intended to reduce flooding and restore aging underground systems. The work ranges from installing large storm-sewer chambers at Idyllwild Park (feeding outlets near JFK Airport) to replacing nearly 100-year-old bridge mechanisms at the Tide Gate Bridge in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, a project DDC expects to finish around 2028.
DDC officials described multiple water-main projects now in construction or design across Queens — examples cited included projects in Queens Village, Forest Hills, Jamaica Estates, Bayside and Corona — and said some multi-site efforts finished early. The agency emphasized coordination with schools, hospitals and nursing homes when planned shutdowns could affect water service and said contractors do not shut off water to those facilities without alternate arrangements.
Gershman outlined community protections and outreach tools: full‑time Construction Community Liaisons on major projects to communicate with residents and businesses, door‑to‑door notices, weekly advisories and quarterly updates. For planned water shutoffs, DDC said residents receive at least 72 hours' notice followed by a 24‑hour confirmation that the work will proceed or be canceled.
The presentation also described a pilot lead-service-line replacement program done during capital projects. Gershman said DEP funds replacements where properties are identified by DEP, but replacements proceed only after (1) DEP's list includes the property, (2) a contractor inspects and confirms a lead service line exists, and (3) the replacement is technically feasible; property owners must sign a consent form, and DDC/DEP make four outreach attempts before concluding a property has not consented.
On specific projects, DDC said the Idyllwild Park storm‑sewer work would increase capacity by installing multiple large chambers, the Tide Gate Bridge replacement will require utility relocations and a temporary pedestrian bridge during construction, and the Rockaway interceptor‑lining project is starting now with anticipated spring completion next year for certain phases. Several "priority grid" packages were presented as a way to combine small locations into a single capital project for efficiency.
Community board members asked DDC to broaden outreach tools (for example, using Linx/links podiums to post digital notices in buildings) and pressed for details on a large Glendale/Rego Park corridor project and cross‑island flood work; DDC committed to follow up with project schedules and to phase some work to limit community disruption. Officials also referenced project HWQ724B (Brookville Boulevard) and said they will coordinate with DEP and DPW on sequencing and test pits to inform later phases.
The presentation closed with DDC encouraging boards to review the circulated slide deck and to send follow‑up questions; the chair said the meeting administrator would resend the full presentation after the meeting.
